2.2 Case Study: Understanding the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland

You may have noticed in the above sections that we have been referring to Ireland as the “island of Ireland”. This is because we are referring to counties and provinces that span two distinct political regions – Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. If you look at the county and provincial map (Figure 2.4 in the previous section), you will notice that the province of Ulster encompasses 9 counties.

It is important to note that three of the counties in Ulster – Donegal, Cavan and Monaghan – are a part of the Republic of Ireland, while the remaining six counties (Londonderry, Antrim, Down, Armagh, Tyrone and Fermanagh) are situated within the national borders of Northern Ireland, a region that is part of the United Kingdom. So, while the other three provinces of Munster, Leinster and Connacht are situated within the Republic of Ireland, we can see that Ulster holds counties on both sides of the political border.

The reason for the political division between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland dates back to the plantation of Ulster in the 17th century, when many people from Northern England and Scotland moved to Northern Ireland to settle and farm under the reign of Kings James VI. Those who settled in this region brought the protestant religion and spoke English, while the Irish residents already living on the land were Catholics who spoke Irish. By 1630, there were 13,000 male residents from Scotland or Northern England living in Ulster. This form of settler colonialism enacted by the English at the time was contentious, and led to many Irish residents being displaced from their land in favour of settler farmers who lived and worked on plantations. As Scottish and Northern English people lived in this area across generations, they lived alongside Irish people whose faith, language and land ownership was often contested. Given the power of the protestant communities over time, other rights held by Catholic communities became compromised as well, such as limited access to jobs and difficulties securing land to rent. Religious and political tensions have been an integral part of the history of this portion of the island; through many conflicts and wars, there has been an ongoing dispute related to the unification of Ireland – versus maintaining Northern Ireland as a separate entity from the Republic of Ireland. You may be familiar with this long-standing, complex, and complicated history in relation to the civil war known as the Troubles, which took place during the latter half of the twentieth century.

In this video by Dr. William Roulston, you can learn more about how the plantations were developed, and who inhabited this region:

Figure 2.7 The Plantation of Ulster by Dr. William Roulston, available on Youtube. This video is included on the basis of the Youtube Standard License. 

Food for Thought